


First and Last

by indigoat



Category: Pushing Daisies
Genre: Car Accidents, F/M, First Kiss, Love, One Shot, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 08:26:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7260055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigoat/pseuds/indigoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is something I've wanted to write for a long time. TW: car accidents, some description of blood/gore</p>
            </blockquote>





	First and Last

Charlotte Charles—known affectionately by some as “Chuck”—was fifty seven years, twenty-two weeks, four days, and nine minutes old when the car she was driving skidded on the icy street and flew off the side of the road and collided in the snow-covered trees with the tyres screaming and the sound of metal ripping apart biting into the cold night air.

Ned the Piemaker was fifty eight years, three weeks, five days, and nineteen minutes old when he opened his eyes and felt something warm and wet trickling down the side of his face. He extracted one of his throbbing arms from where it was pinned to his side beneath the airbag, and wiped his cheek. Blood stained his hand, dizzying him when he saw it. He looked over and saw Chuck, her face cut up from the broken glass, and blood dribbling from her mouth. Her chest, her chest was rising and falling and it made his stomach drop with relief. “Chuck. Chuck!”

He shifted in his seat, sliding out of his seatbelt and pulling himself towards her. “Chuck!”

Her eyes opened, slowly. Her right eye was red and puffy, and her tongue traced her lips, slowly, then recoiled at the metallic taste of the blood. In a voice that was barely above a whisper, or a wimper, she managed, “…Ned?”

“Chuck, thank goodness, we shouldn’t have been traveling in this weather, let me help you—“

“Ned—“

“—don’t know if I can get signal, do you need signal for 911, maybe I can—“

“Ned.” She winced, as if raising her voice had been painful, and coughed. Ned stopped his monologue.

“Ned, I’m,” she closed her eyes for a moment, then, upon opening them and finding herself in the same situation, not dreaming, said, “I’m not… going to make it.”

Ned felt his heart fall from his chest and leave his body completely. “Don’t say that, of course you will,” he said calmly, though inside he had begun to panic.

“No, I’m not.” She took a deep breath, steadied herself. “Kiss me.”

“I—what?”

“Kiss me,” she said again. “I’m not going to make it out of here alive, Ned, I’m sorry.”

“No, let me do something, just let me call for an ambulance—“ Ned’s voice trembled, betraying the presence of fear that was bubbling like oil inside of him, making him sick.

“They can’t help me,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “And I don’t want it to happen in some cold ambulance or alone in a hospital. My time is up. I was lucky, so lucky to get more from you, but now that’s up too. Tell Aunt Vivian and Mom that I love them…” she gasped sharply, and Ned gripped her gloved hand in his.

“Chuck…” tears began to fall thick and fast from Ned’s eyes, blurring his vision. “I love you.” He pulled himself closer to her, wrapped his hand around her neck.

“You’re my first and last after all,” she whispered, trying to laugh, then grimaced and tried to hide from Ned, who felt his heart break apart in slow motion. Her face was pale and wet with tears, but her eyes were as bright and as loving as they’d always been. “And I love you, too.”

He tried to smile, but choked, and kept his eyes open until the last moment, when his lips met hers and for the briefest of moments he could see her embracing him on a warm spring day, feel her kissing him good morning in bed, taste honey and love and joy on her lips and then it was gone, and he pulled away and looked at her while sobs erupted from him, threatening to tear him apart.

He kept her hand in his, and when his vision finally cleared and he could look at her properly it wasn’t her broken body that he rested his gaze on, it was her smile, that smile on her face that she wore when everything was right in the world.


End file.
